At A Glance

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Blue Mountain offers big time skiing and riding for Ontario and Michigan snowsports enthusiasts, and this coming season will also be offereing a new ride dubbed the Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster.

"It's been operating all summer and was an instant hit with our guests," Blue's Collin Matanowitsch said. "It opened it at the very end of ski season, and it's been a very popular ride. We anticipate it being just as popular with our winter guests."

Cost per ride is $15 CA ($15.28 US) or $40 CA ($40.75 US) for four rides. A youth ticket (3-12), passenger only, is $5 CA ($5.09 US). Riders travel alone or in pairs and control the speed, which can reach upwards to 26 mph - 42 kph - on the downhill run.

Like a roller coaster, you ride up the hill. The 3,560-foot-long elevated track allows you to race down the forested mountainside through the treetops in individual coaster cars. The total experience takes around six minutes, according to Matanowitsch.

"The views of Georgian Bay and the Niagara Escarpment are breathtaking, and winter is the best time to see it," he added.

The Ridge Runner is Ontario's first alpine coaster, but it's the second one around the Great Lakes. Spirit Mountain in Duluth opened their Timber Twister last year. There are currently 10 operating across North America.

Blue Mountain has 36 trails ranging from beginner to double black diamond, two terrain parks, a super pipe, and 14 lifts, including four high-speed express chairs, and a hefty 720-foot vertical. It's arguably one of the best snowsports resorts in the Great Lakes Region.

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